Page 56 of The Bookbinder's Guide to Love

He shrugged. “I was planning on asking Sera out again tomorrow night.”

“Great. Merle, I’ll have a rum and coke,” Liberty said.

Merle went to get their drinks. Liberty dumped her coat and ran to the bathroom.

“Sorry about this,” Sera started.

“Don’t be. If we are going to be dating, I want to know your friends and feel like I’m part of your life,” he said.

Those words were both a balm to her soul and a warning. She didn’t want Wes to become part of her inner circle until she was sure she could trust him. And she wasn’t anywhere near ready to do that yet. She was scared and unsure of what the future between them could be. Grief had brought them together—no two ways about that. But this thing between the two of them felt bigger than just grief or a six-week bargain. Would he like her enough to stay, to uproot his life and move here because Birch Lake was her home?

She was trying to be brave, trying her best to be the leading lady. But it was harder than she had ever anticipated.

Wes hadn’t really dated a lot, but even he knew this was unconventional. Her friend group was like her family, and he saw it on full display as he sat across from Poppy, who kept asking him questions about his business and how long he thought he’d be staying in Birch Lake.

However long I feel likewas what popped into his head, but he didn’t say it.

He liked Sera. He wasn’t too sure about her friends at this moment, but he didn’t want to come off as a jerk. They were a lot of fun and he respected how they had Sera’s back. Because he’d come in like a massive douchebag, they were reserved around him, something that he totally understood. But at the same time, he wished they’d ease up.

“He’s here for four more weeks working with me, Poppy—you know that,” Sera said. “In fact, Wes and I are going to be interviewing some candidates next week to take a permanent position for when he’s gone.”

“That’s good. So after four weeks you’ll be going back to... Where did you say you were from?” Poppy asked.

“I’m based out of Boston,” he said. “But I grew up in Portland.”

“That’s where your dad and brother live, right?” Liberty asked. “Think you could ask Oz a few questions for me?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sure.”

This wasn’t what he’d expected, and he was ready to get up and bail on this dinner, but then Sera reached under the table and put her hand on his thigh and squeezed. “Wes mentioned he’s joining your D&D group. Got room for another person?”

He looked over at Sera and she just winked at him.

“Sure. It’s kind of a more-the-merrier session. I’m giving people a chance to try out their characters so they can make tweaks before we start our next campaign,” Merle said.

“Great. Liberty was saying not that long ago she wanted to rock—”

“Serafina Conte, don’t you dare,” Liberty said.

Sera tipped her head to the side and looked at Liberty, then Poppy. “What? Just thought you might want the opportunity. I think I’ll try it. Wes showed me the link to the web page where you can create your own character.”

The conversation moved to D&D and Wes started to breathe a little easier as her friends debated about spells, classes and character types. When he started to relax, he realized how comfortable the three women were with each other. There were times when they talked over each other, but they seemed to always understand what the others were saying. Merle looked as bemused by it as Wes felt. The other thing he noticed was that whenever Liberty wasn’t looking at him, Merle watched her with a thoughtful expression.

Not that Liberty looked away all that often. She needled the other man all the time. Everything he said she had a quip for, and as the night wore on and they all downed more drinks, Merle started to give the sass back to her.

Poppy’s reserve loosened, and when Sera went up to get a round for the table, Poppy leaned over. “Sorry I was grilling you earlier.”

“That’s okay.”

“It’s not really, but I just don’t...”

“Trust me?”

“Not just you... It’s your entire gender.”

Same. He had never felt so seen as he did when he heard the confusion in Poppy’s voice. What did it say about him that he immediately understood her not trusting all men? That he had always felt that way about women?

It hadn’t helped that his grandmother had died when Oz and he were eight. They’d never really had a woman’s influence growing up. His dad had been gun-shy when it came to dating after his divorce and never brought a woman home. So it had reinforced that Sitwell men might be better off without a woman in their lives. Romance was a risk. Wes glanced over to where Sera stood in line. His heart beat faster. For the first time, he had been tempted into taking a chance.

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